Sunday, September 29, 2013

Slaying JYT Shadow or Constitutional Monarchy Democracy?

The
Kuensel editorial of Friday the 27th September, 2013, ended with a
food for thought for the public regarding the ruling PDP Party MPs pushing
through National Assembly their intent to amend the part of National Assembly
Act which covers resignation of an MP, to quote, “What should be weighed today is whether it is really necessary to amend
laws just so bruised egos could be mended against ramifications or bearing such
a move would have in future”.

I
have no comment on “bruised egos” or no egos but it is necessary to hazard a
thought on what possible, “ramification or bearing such a move have in future”.
I qualify my thoughts as, “hazard” because it is not possible to predict future
happenings in totality. And I say it is necessary to hazard a thought because
we may be heading towards an end to a dream envisioned by the two Kings of
Bhutan when they initiated the Constitutional Monarchy system for democratic
governance. And I do not want that to happen and therefore the necessity to
make public my thoughts on the issue raised by Kuensel editorial.

The
move by Ruling PDP Party MPs to amend National Assembly Act is to retrospectively
censure the resignation of the President of DPT from the elected post of Member
of Parliament. This objective was made
very clear during the debate in the National Assembly and it is in line with
the Speaker’s initial reaction to JYT resignation letter.

Lyonpo
Pema Gyamtso the leader of the Opposition Party has already hinted what the
reaction would be if an amendment was rammed through at any time by the ruling
party. Like him most Opposition Party MPs may elect to resign than to be a part
of a Parliament that is engaged in censuring their Party President and
therefore the DPT Party itself. One or two DPT MPs could be induced or seduced
to remain with promises of better opportunities so as to preserve a semblance
of a two Party system of governance. But in essence, the noble royal dream of a
Constitutional Monarchy Democratic system will be shattered. It does not mean
that Bhutan will be in political disarray. I think many Bhutanese would be
comfortable with the past Monarchy system being re-instated. Frankly it will
mean that Bhutanese people will have less number of Bosses to bow down to.

In
my assumption, the Constitutional Monarchy system was initiated to meet 3 primary
national goals.

1.To keep in step with people oriented political
reforms taking place elsewhere in the world.

2.To meet the aspirations of the increasing number
of educated Bhutanese people who could be trusted to be responsible for their
own future. Recently the King made this aspect very clear when His Majesty said
that Democracy was not a gift. It was a responsibility given from the Throne to
the Bhutanese people.

3.Ensuring the continuity of the Institution of
Monarchy which was established more than 100 years ago to bring peace and
stability to Bhutan. The Institution of Monarchy is more important to the
Bhutanese people than to the Wangchuck Dynasty. Let me cite just one relevant
example. Few weeks back I asked of a very prominent politician, “How is
Sino-Bhutan Talk going on?” “It is in the safe hands of His Majesty and therefore
progressing very well”, was the immediate reply. In fact during the ongoing
session of the 2nd Parliament, it was reported that Technical Teams
of China and Bhutan had carried out a joint survey at an identified Sino-Bhutan
border area. The two political parties may deal with Bhutan’s giant neighbours
based on their Party’s political expediency but the King of Bhutan on whose
shoulder rests the constitutional responsibility of national security and the
ultimate well being of the people cannot compromise the sovereign interests of
the Kingdom for money or out of fear. This is why I say that Monarchy is the
gravitational force that keeps the nation in its independent orbit.

Now
based on my above 3 assumptions that led to the Constitution of Bhutan, I
cannot imagine that the King of Bhutan will officially grant assent to an
amendment to the National Assembly Act that in effect tantamount to
retrospectively censuring the act of resignation from the elected post of MP by
the President of DPT which is the present Opposition Party. The Throne is
constitutionally placed in neutral political position. It does not mean that
the King cannot intervene. He can and he should in matters of national security
or ultimate well being of the people. But to condone a deliberate political act
of the Ruling Party to censure the President of the political party in
Opposition is literally destroying the very foundation of the political system
set up under the Constitutional Monarchy Democratic Governance.

Democracy
in modern era cannot be bounded by feudalistic limitation. It is ridiculous to
convert tenure of an MP to that of a prison term. If an MP cannot have the
freedom of expression such as resigning for whatever reasons be it politics,
social, economic or simply distaste of the environment, the other lowly
citizens really need to be wary of the new political system. Democracy cannot
be qualified or limited by money. Election expenditure cannot be an absolute reason
to deny basic human right or an expression of democratic freedom. I also feel
that people’s trust in an elected MP is overhyped because in Bhutanese Election
there is no button in the EVM to reject any or all candidates. In a close
community like Bhutan over crowded with political party people, it is very
awkward to abstain from voting and once in the voting booth, the person has no
other choice then to vote for one of the candidates. So it is possible that the
public in general may not be overly concerned if few re-elections are held. And
re-elections due to resignations will be really rare because candidates spend
more money, time and energy and definitely make more sacrifices than any other
to participate in an election. He or she is most unlikely to throw away the
fruit of success unless compelled to.

The
Election Commission had issued a writ barring elected Tshogpas from resigning
based on its argument that re-election was a burden to national resources.
Bhutan’s uniqueness lies in its over the barrel dictates such as the writ
issued by the Election Commission that subvert the very principle of democracy
it is supposed to uphold. That writ was not challenged because the Tshogpas
were only fighting for more pay which they did get. However, it does not mean
that the writ is legally sound. The authority of the Election Commission covers
the period of registration to election result. The authority does not extend
beyond election result declaration day. Once a candidate is declared elected,
that candidate falls outside the purview of the Election law and will be
governed by another constitutional authority or Legislative Act. May be for
that reason, the Election Commission did not interfere in the resignation issue
of former Prime Minister. It just does not have the mandate outside the
election law.

I
have had differences with the former Government. I publicly disagreed with the
Tobacco Act and termed it ‘draconian’ and questioned the government’s motive in
obstructing Bhutan’s membership to WTO. Much before that I had accused the DPT
government of buckling under Indian pressure and withdrawing Bhutanese
participation in the Shanghai International Trade Fair. A lot of people may
also recall my fight against the former government in regard to the freedom of
media. And my view of Pedestrian Day was that it was environmentally sound but
socially most insensitive and arbitrary. I made my stands under my own name and
never anonymously. When Dragong Mining Case in Haa surfaced in May, 2013, I
questioned by then the former Prime Minister about the nightmarish policy of
promoting hydropower projects downstream and destroying water catchment areas
upstream. But for all my disagreements with the DPT led government, I hold JYT
in respectable esteem. And if a section of the people disagreed with his style
of functioning, that is an exercise of political freedom and I respect that
too. He did not betray or compromise the sovereignty of the Kingdom. And he
fulfilled his duty to the royal vision of democratic governance by ensuring
that his party took up the Opposition role under a unanimously elected new
leader. And only then he submitted his resignation letter 2 days prior to the
inaugural ceremony of the 2nd National Assembly. His resignation I
feel was beyond his call since it was so publicly and vocally demanded by his
supporters. My views on his resignation have been adequately expressed in my
article ‘Farewell Democratic Bhutan’s
most prominent MP’ at www. wangchasangey.blogspot.com. The only new thing I
need to add here is that I do appreciate that JYT had endeavoured to seek royal
clearance prior to his resignation letter to the National Assembly Secretary.
So that does put in doubt any suspicion of defiance.

After
listening to part of debates and reading more of the views later in print media,
the proposal to amend the resignation clause in the National Assembly Act could
be in a way taking politics to brinkmanship. Presently Bhutan has two
influential national leaders who are in position to rein in this line of
politics. I appeal to Lyonchen Tshering Tobgay the Prime Minister of Bhutan and
Lyonpo Sonam Kinga Chairman of National Council to give to the royal envisioned
dream a chance to succeed. If they wish it is in their sphere of leadership
influence to guide the energy and intellectual capacity of the MPs beyond the
shadow of former Prime Minister Jigmi Yoezer Thinley and concentrate on present
national affairs rather than engraving ugly epitaph on incidents of yesterdays.

In
expressing my thoughts, I only wish the nation well. My positive or negative
views cannot make any difference to the standing of any political party or
leadership. The intent is only to appeal for happier future if anyone cares to
listen.

From
the beginning of 2012, I kind of sensed that not everything was well in the
Kingdom of Camelot. In early week of August, 2012, somehow, I gathered the
courage to submit my thoughts through Bhutan Post to their Majesty the Kings
and the Prime Minister. I did pray deeply that my submissions would be
graciously viewed. I reproduce herewith a part of the submission which in a way
is a window to my inner heart. I have always been truly committed to the Institution
of the Monarchy and peace and stability of Bhutan.

Hereunder
is the reproduced part of the submission made on 7th August, 2012.

“A citizen would like
to humbly beg to share few heartfelt thoughts with his most respected and
revered God-like His Majesty the King, His Majesty the 4th Druk
Gyalpo and the Hon’ble 1st Prime Minister of Constitutional
Democratic Kingdom of Bhutan.

Internal Political Impression

Constitutional Democracy is a new experiment
for Bhutanese and Bhutan both at national and International level. As such
there will always be in existence some doubts, some hesitation and a minor
trust deficit between authorities, between people and authorities and between
neighbours. However as years go by and the elected governments and the Monarchy
Institution interacts in good faith, the misgivings and bottle necks will
dissipate. A national capacity will
naturally develop that will absorb changes and channel new stream of democratic
thoughts along proven, reliable channels of the past.

Recently, I felt quite disturbed by the
intensity of different views in the mass media in regards to the land amendment
Bill. I don’t know who really were using the forums: were they civil servants,
land commission people, MPs, political groups, simply ordinary Bhutanese out on
a political weekend or outsiders out to create a division between the Prime
Minister and the King. It is my belief that the Royal Person and the Prime
Minister themselves are very much in national unison and the preceding years of
developed trust and respect still prevail.

It is in the interest of any ruling
political party to preserve the sanctity of the Constitutional Monarchy
Institution as much as it is in the interest of the Monarchy Institution to
help nurture and protect the sanctity of democratic governance. Bhutan’s
strength as a sovereign nation and social stability requires the two main
institutions to move in unison in the same direction. We cannot have Thailand
type of tug of war because Bhutanese in general do not want it. They revere
their Monarch and they want the government to concentrate on economic
development and create jobs.

As years go by, I think the Bhutanese King
and Bhutanese Prime Minister (I don’t mean the present), will have no time to
think of their individual turfs and prerogatives. The trend of the future is
very clear. Already we have new
religious groups and with it will come political groups not based on region or
ethnic but on common agenda not necessarily pro national interest.”

In
conclusion I wish to state that sometimes it is necessary to set politics aside
in the interests of overall national well being. It is unhealthy to play off
Prime Minister versus Prime Minister or Prime Minister versus His Majesty the
King. Bhutan is a small nation with huge social and economic burdens. We need
contribution from the best of our people especially national leaders and above
all it is necessary for all Bhutanese to come together to protect and preserve
the sanctity of the Institution of Monarchy and therefore avoid roping in the sacred Institution in the
settlement of political vendetta or in pursuit of gaining political mileage. Pelden
Drukpa Lha Gyalo!

102 comments:

I do agree that MPs should be given the privilege to resign if they want. It is better not to have someone in the position if they are not interested. However, the only issue is the Asha Gups, tshogpas, Thromde Thuemis and Dasho Thrompons from the LGs are not allowed to resign with the ECB writ! Now if the LG representatives wanted to resign due to salary issue, that is what our MPs in the NA and NC did too. They raised their own salaries in the house. Remember the initial salary for MPs during the 2007-2008 election was only publicised as 30k and later it was some 60-70k..unfortunately our gups and tshogpas do not have the luxury to decide these things. They can only take up the issue to MOHCA and MOF or their MPs...Look at out Thrompons. I truly believe that Thimphu Thrompon has way more work and risk than even some ministers.. He does not a high perk or benefits.. I am tempted to say that it is probably because there is no one in the house to fight for him.. or they did not have one until now.. Believe me, I am not related to Dasho Kinley.As you rightly mentioned, not allowing someone should not perhaps be considered in the amendment but there should definitely be uniformity in the laws for MPs who make the laws and our LG reps who are not in the hall to express their views..

I do support with the notion of allowing members to resign. Just one instance of resignation should not necessarily stimulate MPs to change the existing laws. As u mentioned, the ECB's role is from nomination to election result then is it their role to issue writ barring LG Tshogpas from resigning. The writ even ask Tshogpas to refund if they wish to resign. But, LG Act got section allowing elected members to resign by submitting letter of resignation to the chairman (Gup). So, in this context, can ECB's decision nullify this section of the LG act? The things are even more complicated, when I saw one Tshogpa from Haa fully refunded the amount asked by ECB (which is 118000, I am not 100% sure about the figure) but still disallowed to resign saying they are not sure whether to accept it or not. Can anyone help me to understand better?

Dont use your old and rotten brain here. If Elected members wants to resign soon after the election who forced them to contest. Do you think that JYT will resign if DPT has won 2013 Election. He is not the True Leader but a he is in Greed of Power and Money.

But who the hell are you to misinform the people of Bhutan as if you have done PHD in all such areas. By reading at your article you are not even like to be 8Th Standard.

Ever where you are praising your Self as if you have ruled this Country for several Years but in fact in reality you have not run even hold the Post of Director in Govt. Organisation.

Aai, I never imagined that we would ever be using the word robbed to describe elections in our country, but sadly this is exactly what happened in 2013. I guess from now on, elections in our country will be just like any other country in the world where there is massive election fraud.

Oai Tshagey, How can PDP rob the election, DPT robbed the Country in their five years Tenure from 2008-2013 and there are lots of corruption by the Ministers and their Colleges that's why people didn't choose them this time. If you want to know the reality of DPT kinldy do check what their Dzongkhag Co-coordinators are Doing, some are awarded with mining business,some are Ferro silicon Business and so on.

To the Anonymous who said Oai Tshagey, what makes you say that DPT robbed the country in their five year tenure and that there are lots of corruption by the Ministers and their colleagues. If what you say is true, than why did the Bhutanese and Tenzing Lamsang have to depend on the Gyelposhing land scam, something which happened when we were very much under a monarchy, to try and disqualify the ex PM from contesting in the 2013 elections. Also remember, how the Bhutanese went to great lengths to crucify Lyonpo Thakur for owning 15 decimal of land near the proposed Education cicty cite. So my question is, if there was so much corruption, how come Tenzing Lamsang never found out, which is unbelievable. So next time, please stop lying.

Wangtsha Sangay, Thank you for having Sympathy. But you have misunderstood me or its just opposite while reading your second Sentence. May be your are over torment your self right after the election and every time your article tells us that you are still in Pain but what to do you cant turn back the Clock. Better visit Hospital have proper Check up and take medicine in time.

I agree with the views of the author and I would like to add that ex Lyonchens resignation only happened because of reason known to everyone except for a few PDP supporters who pretend not to know. As i don't foresee such resignations happening in future, that is if the elections are free and fair, the PDP is making a mistake by trying push through any such amendment to the existing one.

I also have a small request, hvaing been part of Bhutan Times, can you please write about your feelings on the Bhutanese and Bhutanomics and how you view such type of journalism.

Generally I am more with Kuensel and BBS TV for news informations. However, there is a big difference between the 'The Bhutanese' and 'Bhutanomics'. The Bhutanese is a news print and therefore the public is aware who is writing and so the newspaper would act more responsibly than those who write in the Bhutanomics. In print media few journalists have their contacts with agencies and political parties and these contacts are often referred to as 'sources'. One needs to understand that both the journalist and the source would try to use each other to their individual interest or benefit. A victim of Bhutanomics may not get a fair treatment but normally with print media, the views of the supposed victim is also entertained and printed by the same paper. What I have noticed is that aggrieved party often fail to counter intelligently.

I understand what you are trying to say, but as a print media, the Bhutanese and Tenzing Lamsang are acting anything but responsibly. While DPT was in power, they relentlessly attacked them, now that PDP is ruling, he has become a mouse. For me, I have lost all respect for such types of journos like TL, people who have no ethics nor any integrity. I am sure many have now seen the true face of Tenzing Lamsang and know what a lowlife he always was.

These days, it looks as though Karma Ura and Tenzing Lamsang are comforting each other, maybe Kunxang Wangdi, the ECB Chairman and Aum Neten should join them too.

In my opinion, allowing MPs to resign based on the result of the election would have far reaching impacts on the future of democratic politics in Bhutan. If such a trend is allowed to set in, we even may not have a fully functional parliament that could even be sabotaged with intents of mass resignation by the losing party. Any losing party will have thousands of factual or cooked up stories to tell about their loss, because we don't have the culture of gracefully accepting defeat. We are delicately thin skinned.

Please don't take Bhutanese for fools, we all know what is fair and what is unfair. I don't think anyone contests an election, only to resign when he or she is wins. The Ex PMs case is a one off case where everyone knows why he resigned and I suspect that you do too. So please don't feign ignorance.

Wai anon (1:40 AM), I don't take you to be a fool, but I am pointing to the repercussions in the future. JYT would have earned more respects, if he decided to stay, because he will then be taken as a follower of his own teachings of humility. He is not greater than the Kings, and his resignation is a direct disobedience to one of the key components of Tsa-wa-tsum, a dedication to which he lectured to common people in many gatherings and occasions.

Leaders should be followers, not merely preachers. If he really cared for the nation, he should have carefully considered the ramifications his resignation would have on the future of our country's politics.

In fact people respect him even more for resigning, I don't believe he would have earned more repsects by hanging around. After serving so long, many people hated him, so he was right in bidding adieu.

It is funny that some people talk about the ramifications of JYTs resignation on the future of our country's politics, yet they are very silent on the massive fraud that took place in the 2013 elections which will have a much bigger ramification on the politics of Bhutan. In a strange way, the resignation of JYT actually sends a positive message, that fraud and vote rigging will not be tolerated.

Anon 1052 PM, you seem to be pretty concerned about where are poltics is heading, so in your opinion which is more graver, an EX PM resigning because of an unfair election or allowing such election fraud as part and parcel of our elections.

Why a massive fraud? Which fraud are you talking about? I didn't see any fraud in the last election? If as alleged by few that there was intervention in Trongsa and Bumthang, why each of these Dzongkhags still have a DPT representative to the parliament? In my own assessment, and as pointed out by others in various other forums and posts, JYT leadership was counter-productively ambitious without being sensitive to the feelings of the southern giant that has supported us so much despite their overwhelming domestic priorities. Yes I acknowledge that he was patriotic and served us well, but he is not infallible and devoid of shortcomings. As pointed by many, he has gained so much from the country as much as he has contributed. In the end, sacrifices and benefits would even out.

Why do we have to acknowledge only our political leaders and top brass leaders? On a monthly basis, many unsung heroes are retiring from the civil service. I don't see any decent see off to them. Worse is when some folks had to lose their retirement benefits and walk out with shame, after more than 2 decades of dedicated service, for the mistakes committed by their dictatorial superiors.

Yeah, I know damn well that JYT's resignation was a sheer defiance to our supreme leader, but I haven't seen one occasion where he owned up mistake and publicly apologized.

Dear Anon 11:15, while you seem to be illuminated by the fact that vote was rigged, I didn't see any news of people being threatened to push the buttons at gun point. I haven't heard of any secret cameras placed to check who voted for which party. So, rigged is incorrect.

Even if I have to admit that there was intervention from the highest order, I am fully confident in their actions. There must be a bigger cause for the overall good of the nation, much bigger than the selfish motives of a few politicians and their gullible supporters.

Haha, please tell us what happened to the 15 points submitted and which is now with the ECB with no action, . If you can answer that correctly, I will believe you that our 2013 elections were absolutely smooth and fair, otherwise, just shut the f..k up.

This bloody PDP supporter and an Indian slave, JYT was trying to make our country more independent from the likes of India, now see where our grovelling in front of India has landed us, they are yet to release any of the funds that they have committed to us. So much for Acho PMs declaration about the very special relationship Bhutan and India share.

Wai Anon, wake up to the real world, when votes are rigged, you don't always have to do it at gun point, there are so many other subtle ways of doing it. Don't make a fool of yourself by trying to behave as you know everything, like they say, a little knowledge is dangerous.

JYT was trying to make our country more dependent on India by building more costlier dams and borrowing more money which will keep us forever enslaved by India. Scientists have unequivocally predicted that Himalayan glaciers are gonna disappear soon, and all we will have in the near future will be too many concrete walls to munch on. Some people are so blinded by their personal motives that they fail to see even the simplest logic.

The only thing Bhutan has in abundance is the ability to produce hydro power, that's why JYT was harnessing all the power we could, so that one day we could be economically independent of India. India will not allow Bhutan to invite other countries to invest in our power sector, that's the reason we have to borrow money from India.

Anon 2:25: Yes, it is plain fact that we have enormous hydro-power potentials, but can't you use your little brain to think that we cannot harness them without the help of Indians? First, which country or foreign investors will be so generous enough to invest in our hydropower sector like the Indian's do? Do you think they will give 40 or 60 percent grant like the Indian’s do? Second, do you think they will invest only to know that in the end they have to sell the power only to India and nowhere else? Do you think it will be cost effective to sell power to Tibet? Do you think India will allow electric poles to go through Indian soil to sell power to Bangladesh? Please rack your useless brain and make some sense. Under the current setting, India is power hungry and it is in the interest of both nations that massive hydro-power projects are being built with half free assistance from India. For easy reference just call me TYJ (The Yo Ja)

What an idiotic reply, you know how much India pays us for a unit of electricity and how much a unit of electricity costs in India, there-in you will get your answer as to why they give us that grant you mention. Your pea brain needs to realize that if India allowed other countries to invest in our hydro power projects, they would be paying us triple the amount for a unit of energy, so the only thing they are doing is giving us money with their right hand and taking it back with their left hand.

Next time, please come up with more sound arguments, instead of making a dunce of yourself.

What kind of a dumbass you are in whining about how much Indian government makes out of selling our electricity. Come on man! Do understand the simple logic of demand and supply. You cannot tell our vegetable vendors who pay less than INR 5 for a kilo of tomato in Falakata to sell at Nu. 6 in Thimphu. In fact, we buy tomatoes at more than Nu. 40 and sometimes even Nu. 80 in the Centenary Farmer’s Market. In the same vein, it is all up to India to sell electricity at whatever rate it is feasible to their public as long as they pay us as per the mutual agreement. According to your poor logic, Bhutan should stop receiving aid from India, stop building the dams, and discontinue selling electricity so that India can heed to our demand. Do that and we will have to tread through the ancient trails and leave our vehicles to rust. As a begging nation, we have no choice but to accede to India’s demand, because we simply didn’t have our own money to build the hydropower dams to bargain in our favor. If worse come to worst, India can choose not to buy Bhutan’s electricity. There are many dams built in West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, and some are being built to connect to the main grid. If they can strike a good deal with Nepal which over 30,000 MW hypower potentials we are screwed up. They also have huge potentials to produce electricity from nuclear energy. Recently in the wake of rising global temperature and impending need for sustainable low carbon energy source, there has been increasing interests in exploring the potentials of Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors. LFTRs use thorium instead of uranium, and the technology is not as dreadful as the conventional uranium reactors that are prone to meltdowns. Besides, thorium is found in plentiful supply, as four times as abundant as uranium. India also has geothermal reserves to back up their power supply. Even if you hail from an affluent family, don't act as if our country as a whole is very rich and we can influence powerful nations like India. You epitomize the egoistic and belligerent attitude of large number of Bhutanese elites and politicians. That is why our country is rotting from inside. All your lopsided, highly polemical opinions emanate from your selfish comfort zone. You are largely ignorant of the daily drudgeries of more than two thirds of our population. It is all because of such sick attitude of you and your party that PDP has to be more subservient to India’s tall command. Thank god, we voted you guys out. Otherwise, we might have been dying of hunger under the tyrannous yoke of people like you.

Why do you write such a long essay with no substance, do your realize that when we purchase electricity from India, we pay more than when we export it to them. Is this type of friend you suck up to. You are a real dumbo man, India this India that. Go get a life instead of preaching here, otherwise keep it short and siomple, we don't have time to read the crap you write.

Yes it's true, when we purchase electricity back from India, we pay much more than the price they pay us for our electricity. I don't know what the hell this guy is writing about the centenary market and vegetable prices etc.

Some people here are pathetic sole losers. They cannot challenge a man who writes with lot of substance. If you cannot understand plain simple language, you are truly a mentally challenged numskull. Even if you are not a complete lunatic, your moral compass is all the time pointing to the direction of personal breakdown. I think you seriously need a deep soul searching instead of spewing your filthy rich views here which do not make sense to a majority of poor people.

You know why we are importing electricity in winter? It is because of filthy rich blood suckers like you. You guys need electricity to run your fronting factories. In fact, people like you are so much double standard. You kneel down to the Indian business tycoons in reality and talk shits about India in a blog like these. Suckers is all I have to say to people like you.

Some who writes a lot of substance, you mean to say, vegetable vendors in Bhutan can buy vegetables from India and charge as much as they want in Bhutan, get off it, the Department of Trade regulates the prices. If we are paying Nu.40 for tomatoes and sometime Nu 80, it is not because the vendors are chargin what they want, it means that their has been a corresponding price of tomatoes in India.

So the man who writes a lot of substance is actually writing a lot of bull shit.

Some who writes a lot of substance, you mean to say, vegetable vendors in Bhutan can buy vegetables from India and charge as much as they want in Bhutan, get off it, the Department of Trade regulates the prices. If we are paying Nu.40 for tomatoes and sometime Nu 80, it is not because vendors are charging what they want, it means that there has been a corresponding rise in prices of tomatoes in India. A similar thing is happening with onions these days, simple economics will tell you that this is because of demand and supply and not on the person who is selling it.

So the man who writes a lot of substance has actually written a lot of bull shit.

Anon 10:25: Whoever you are, it was nice chatting with you. I respect your views, and you are a great person. Please pardon me for all the hurtful words. I really didn't mean them. Consider me as being childish. Next time, I will behave well. May you have a peace of mind and a good life.

Sure. Having made such a bloody fuss about Massive not bowing down to him, he knew Massive would take sweet revenge and make him bow down, which his fragile Ego wouldn't allow him to do. Simple as that.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. What a relief to be rid of that hypocritical tyrant who pretended to be a statesman, patriot and loyal servant of the Throne when all he really was interested in was to promote his own selfish interests. We must be careful of such Macbeths in future.

Hi to the Anon who says, good riddance to bad rubbish, it's people like you our country has to get rid off, JYT served the country meritoriously and we are what we are because of many of his contributions. We are not denying that he had his faults, but to describe as you do, I think is a bit too harsh.

By the way, can you tell us how you have contributed to the welfare of Bhutan, to write so derogatorily about some one who has served this nation with distinction for the past 40 years.

A load of rubbish, we are now a democracy and we are wasting our time debating a silly point as to whether an elected should allowed to resign or not. No other democracy in the world will have a law not allowing a member of parliament from resigning. And if we are concerned about financial implications, which is certainly not the case here, as the author says, it is just a move to censure the Ex PM, if the concern is really about extra money being spent on a by election, parliament should be deliberating on whether a primary round of elections are needed, which involves far more money being wasted.

TO ALL, THE FACT IS, JYT SCARIFIED FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE, TRANQUILITY AND UNITY OF THIS COUNTRY!!!!DESPITE ALL ELECTION SCAMS, SCANDALS, VOTE RIGGING, HE CONTROLLED AND COOLED DOWN HIS AGITATED SUPPORTERS...IT WILL GO DOWN THE HISTORY!!

MPs should be allowed to resign only under specifies, unavoidable circumstances, not just because they lost and cant bear the thought of having to bow down to their arch-enemy. Otherwise, they should be made to foot the bill for the re-election. Quite logical, really.

I concur, however in JYTs case, it can't get any more specific than a rigged elections which everyone knows happened. JYT actually must be laughing looking at the PM and his cabinet running around like a bunch of headless chickens.

I disagree. 2013 election was fair and people of Bhutan are the winners. Instead of laughing, JYT should be guilty and regretful for the big mess he and his party left behind: rupee crunch, import ban, no loans, high national debt, ailing hydro power projects, disgruntled civil servants, and rising unemployment. If headless chickens are running, spectators must be in delirium.

some bold historians will write the truth or perhaps they might have already written but not able to publish....in fact, the truth should prevail but in bhutan, truth either gets distorted or hidden!!!!....whatever, it is a big lesson for future elections!!!

It takes ordinary historian to write that the previous lot of DPT top brass was bunch of goons. This is a truth and it prevails. By western standards, some of the ministers were plain womanizers. One of them caused several divorces among harmonious couples.

What a terrifying sadist you are! You and party rejoice in the pangs of many separated couples whose harmonious relationships were wreaked by a lecherous minister. Thank God! people of your mindset are not the majority in the parliament. Otherwise, we will be living a hellish life.

Haha, these PDP supporters still believe that JYT resigned so he could avoid bowing down to Acho TT, how much more delusional can they get. Get real and better tell the PDP government to start functioning instead of posting such silly remarks online.

Here is a plain logic. When you choose to befriend someone, make sure that your new friend is not an arch enemy of your best friend. In the same vein, make sure you don't marry the daughter of a man who murdered your dad. May be this is an extreme example, but such is needed to some people with thick skulls who don't seem to understand very simple logic.

Just see the friggin way this very friend you seem to be referring to is treating us, for them everything seems to come with strings attached. This, I think is what you need to get into your thick skull first before you even begin to preach your brand of simple logic.

Why did people of your logic see the “string” only now? Why didn’t you see it in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s? Did you pretend not to see it or you had no choice but to pretend not to see it? Or was it too illogical for you not to see it? I think I might have to use a hammer on this chap.

We always knew that the string was always there, but once we became a democracy, we had a chance of moving away from depending on India too much and forging our own way forward. This it seems was not appreciated by big brother India and hence their cheap political games.

India is good at meddling with other neighboring countries and that is what they exactly did in 2013....But, sad part is, even we bhutanese stooped to their whims! next time around(2018), we will have to be very vigilant!!! it doesn't matter who wins the election as long bhutanese wins and not outsiders!!!

Anon 2:31 PM, first of all, you should ask yourself if ours is a fully democratic country. Even if PM is democratically elected to run the daily affairs of the government, we have to remind ourselves that he is not the head of the nation. When it comes to deciding the fate of the nation, he doesn’t have the full authority. By our Constitution, if you cared to read it, King is still the head of the nation, not a mere symbolic figure. He is still the ultimate authority of the country even if daily affairs of the government are vested in the PM. HM is there is to ensure that the overall security and wellbeing of the nation is not jeopardized by party politics and lofty dreams of a few elected leaders. Knowing the power limit set by the constitution I am tempted to ask if JYT ever consulted our king when matters of national security were concerned? Reports are that he didn't consult our HM before he met with the Chinese Premier in Brazil. I even doubt if he thoroughly consulted and sought the wisdom of our king while campaigning for a seat in the UN Security Council. There are also reports that HM didn’t give an affirmative response when request was made by the PM to grant prados to the retiring ministers. A list of such open defiance to the highest authority can be enormous. JYT is unpopular also among many common citizens for not consulting their wisdom as well. The infamous pedestrian day was forced upon us even if the intentions were good. The general public would have taken it well if proper consultations were made. My gosh! I still dread those days when Thimphu looked like the whole country was under martial law with cops all around. The infamous McKinsey project was another JYT’s fallout which has led to wasteful spending of huge amount of money which could have solved many pressing problems in our poor villages. Forget about HM and the general public, he is not popular even among his party members because of dictatorial nature. The whole JYT’s DPT was a one-man show with very little opposition in the party itself. The National Assembly session appeared more like a well orchestrated Chinese Assembly. It is obvious that JYT is a man of wisdom and capabilities, but his drawbacks are the he is excessively proud, egoistic, and self-righteous, not to mention his vindictive nature. He consults less and keeps people above and under him largely ignorant of his lofty dreams until the dreams fall apart in the public. I am of the opinion that if he consulted and shared all of his dreams properly with our HM from the day one he took the helm of the government he would not have met the surprise during the last election.

Again to Anon 2:31: It is not proper that Bhutan should show open defiance to India in a manner befitting an arrogant ill-bred child. We all know that Bhutan as a country existed because of India’s help. It is because of India that we can proudly call ourselves Bhutanese, not Indian or Chinese unlike our Tibetans and Sikkimese friends. It is largely because of India’s generosity that Bhutan has prospered so much and gained so much mileage in overall Human Development Index. For the last 7 decades, ever since the start of the 1st Five year plan, India has been the biggest donor. Well, some will say that Indian has strings attached to all its assistance and magnanimity, but to be honest no one is purely altruistic. Not even our most parents who have lot of strings attached while raising their kids, and many helps among the siblings are tied to who did what and so many what ifs. Nevertheless, the education and health care that we enjoyed without paying even a single penny for generations are all because of India’s help. Now as a son growing defiant to his parents who had nourished and nurtured him thus far, Bhutan under JYT’s premiership was increasingly growing deviant and ungrateful to the long caring hands of India. The wisdoms of our far-sighted monarchs have known ever since that it is economically, culturally and geopolitically preferable to be more reliant on the southern giant than our northern giant. I think I don’t need to stoop to an elementary level to explain the details of it. It is ridiculous to even imagine turning our back on India when we owe this country a lot both in terms of cash and gratitude. We should know that we are almost non-existent without India. We cannot construct even a small drain in our houses without having an Indian laborer. All we need to do is to show a little bit of gratitude to the country that has shaped our lives positively for several generations. There are many beautiful and acceptable ways to tell our big brother that we are growing self-reliant and that we would no longer need its help. This is a plain a logic that has escaped the logic of many hardliners.

If you and the PM want to kiss the ass of Ambasador Haran, by all means, go ahead, but don't expect other self respecting Bhutanese to follow your lead. India give us aid, not because they love us, they do so because of our strategic position vis a vis China. If the financial support they provide us came with no strings attached, by now they would have released the funds they have promised, the fact they have not tells us that they want us to be even more subservient to them. This is exactly what JYT was trying to get away from, from the bullying by India.

for ur information, JYT was/is/will be staunch Royalist and he will never do anything of national importance without consulting HM...Anyway, let us not belittle these institutions by debating based on our assumptions.As of Indian interference, these is something that we should not welcome...Today, u might ve won but there is no guarantee that they won't interfere to oust u!! no individual with right thinking will ever condone such interference!

Anon 11:04: You sound like a rich independent man. Keep eating your ego and keep robbing the country at the expense of majority poor. But simply because you are rich and self-respecting, people like us who have to continuously struggle for our daily meals cannot remain silent and let your egos bloat.Thank God, Bhutan lies at the strategic geopolitical location because of which India is showing its good nature. Otherwise, Indians can make a hell out of our life, more hellish than Chinese are capable of. Again this is a plain logic, which has eluded your peanut brain largely numbed by your bloated egos. Anon 8:45: JYT was a staunch Royalist, but not now. The fact that he resigned and condoned the seditious mindsets of his party members simply defies all logic that he is a devout royalist. Yes India has interfered and they have every right to do so. What are we? Not even larger than a dirt on an elephant. I think, as a small country it is best in our interest to exhaust all diplomatic options to remain in close friendship with India than challenge them because they interfered. Otherwise, we will only lose and gain nothing by posing as a formidable country. By interfering in our internal affairs, India has lost its image and lowered its credibility in the international scene, and we have lost nothing. If losers like you can forget the party politics and think of the larger interest of the country, there is nothing to make hue and cry. The sky has not fallen and life still goes on as normal in the kingdom of Bhutan. But, if few disgruntled, shortsighted, and belligerent people like you are hell bent on creating havocs, it is your individual choice. But don’t forget that there will be equal or more number of others who would risk to counter your treacherous design by all means.

Exactly, we need to remain friends with India, but when they cant even accept the PM of our country shaking hands with the Chinese Premier, come on they need to treat us a little better than this. As for JYT, lets leave him out of this conversation, what he was and what he is now, neither you nor I will know, so stop commenting as you know his mindset.

This is your DPT mentality that it is so casual for you to insensitively shake hands with all, regardless of how your friends and relatives will think. This speaks volumes about what kind of lowly deceitful people you are. Can we entrust our country in your soiled hands?

Anon 2:31: Tell me one way how Bhutan can remain self sufficient without depending too much on India. Do you mean deflecting to China for help? Fucktards like you don't know even how to till the land and talk about not depending on India. You ask yourself why we cannot produce enough of vegetable despite the fact that more than half our populations are farmers and still import vegetables from India. We also cannot employ our largely unemployed youth in the construction sector and still rely on Indian laborers to construct our concrete structures thereby draining out our INR reserve. Wai ignorant fool! Do you even know that we don't have our own air space? We may own the land but air above us belongs to India. Ask the people in Civil Aviation.

Did you take economics by the way? Do you even care to know the meaning of economies of scale? What can you make something so that you have potential buyers who are not Indians? Electricity is all we have to sell to India, and you whine about Indian's underpayment to India's electricity.

Some Bhutanese are so dumb to know that we sell our surplus potatoes to India in the summer and buy back the same potatoes at higher prices in winter.

India needs to treat Bhutan as a friend and not as one of it's States, do you mean to say that just because we need aid from India, India expects us to suck up to them, you can do all the sucking you want, that's your choice, but we expect India to treat us with respect. If you can't agree with us, go and live in jaigaon you dumbass.

i just hope and wish that u r just one shit ass whose job is just to post these kind of senseless, rubbish comments! if u r in decision making position, i have no doubt, u will even sale country for the sake of personal gain!!!! there can't be another worst traitor like u who is happy when other countries interfere our internal politics. i won't be surprised even if u propose that we should be one of the states of india!!!!

Just coz india gives aid doesn't mean they ve right to interfere in our internal politics!!! if this is u r mentality, then u r nothing more than moron who can't comprehend even the word sovereignty! Beside india, there are many other countries who are giving us aid but they don't interfere! And yes, there are many other countries who genuinely wanted to help us but india doesn't want it to happen...We have always appreciated indian's generous assistance and in return, we too ve danced in their tune in international arena! Bhutan should care of india's geopolitical interest but that doesn't mean they should interfere in our internal affairs. Just giving aid doesn't earn heart and souls of people and neighbors...that is where india is failing with her neighbors.....

As of JYT, he is still royalist and i ve no iota of doubt about it. However u hate him for personal selfish reasons, u r no more than a dust hanging in the air compared to JYT and his contribution to this country. He scarified for the sake of country's unity, peace and tranquility. With overwhelming evidences of election rigging, he could have made big issue out of it but he didn't do it. i am sure nothing positive will go into people like u whose brain is full of dung and negative thoughts!!! Again, i will be surprised if JYT hasn't sought royal approval before resigning from NA. Even speaker might not ve approved it.

Anon 1005 pm, Do you even know that we don't have our own air space? We may own the land but air above us belongs to India. Ask the people in Civil Aviation.

Spoken like a true sycophant, you must be the only Bhutanese proud to announce such a thing and the only one to be happy seeing our PM grovelling in front of Ambassador Haran. And for all that, what have we got till now, only pledges from great friend India and nothing else. Next thing, you will be blaming us for India not releasing the funds they promised.

It is only today that I got to read this very lengthy article. It has lots of substance and wisdom in it, and if I go by the concluding remarks we should stop pitting the Prime Minister against the King. They are not equal as per the historical records and the kingdom's constitution. Those in the DPT camp should deeply introspect what their party and the leaders did to merit a dramatic turn of event in the final round of election. They should not throw stones at others while they are living in a glass house. While much as I agree with the author and owner of this blog, I disagree that the current ruling party is venting out to slur and censure the former PM in the act of calling for an amendment of the Election Act pertaining to the resignation of an elected member. An MP elect's resignation is the first of its kind and coincidentally it happened to be that of the losing party's president. So, it is natural to doubt the legality of such resignation and to avoid such indecent pullouts in the future.

You mean to say India was so scared of Bhutan just because JYT met the Chinese Premier at the sidelines of a climate summit, this just tells you what type of a mind set the Indians have. And, don't you find it funny that a country that wants Peace with China is actually making it worse for themselves when they disapprove of the PM of a small country meeting someone just as a courtesy call. I also don't buy your crap that JYT did not consult Their Majesties while trying for a seat on the UNGC and when he met the Chinese Premier, these are the lies which can be fed only to PDP supporters.

And contrary to what you say, I am grateful to India, but we certainly don't want them to interfere blatantly in the internal matters of our Bhutan, as a friend they should give us this must leeway at least. Whichever cane in to power would have made no difference to India, so don't try to make sound as though Bhutan was going to rush into the arms of China, such conspiracy theories are too far fetched to be even remotely believable.

And, if you don't know, India does not allow many foreign governments to give financial aid to Bhutan, don't you think that is a bit weird and what do you think is the reason for it.

PDP supporters must first realize and accept that the 2013 elections were rigged, it is just not possible for a party that wins the majority of the votes in the primaries to lose by a landslide in the GE just within a period of one month. No where has such a thing happened and the fact that it has only points to one thing, massive election fraud.

You mean to say India was so scared of Bhutan just because JYT met the Chinese Premier on the sidelines of a climate summit, this just tells you what type of a mind set the Indians have. And, don't you find it funny that a country that wants Peace with China is actually making it worse for themselves when they disapprove of the PM of a small country paying a courtesy call. I also don't buy your crap that JYT did not consult Their Majesties while lobbying for a seat on the UNGC and when he met the Chinese Premier, these are the lies which can be fed only to PDP supporters.

And contrary to what you say, I am grateful to India, but we certainly don't want them to interfere blatantly in the internal matters of our country, as a friend they should give us this must leeway at least. Whichever party came in to power would have made no difference to India, so don't try to make it sound as though Bhutan was going to rush into the arms of China, such conspiracy theories are too far fetched to be even remotely believable.

And, if you don't know, India does not allow many foreign governments to give financial aid to Bhutan, don't you think that is a bit weird and what do you think could be the reason for such a policy.

PDP supporters must first realize and accept that the 2013 elections were rigged, it is just not possible for a party that wins the majority of the votes in the primaries to lose by a landslide in the GE just within a period of one month. No where has such a thing happened and the fact that it has only points to one thing, massive election fraud.

As far as resignations go, you know who started the ball rolling, if I remember correctly, it was the two opposition members in 2008. That's the difference between DPT and PDP, while the former is made up of mature party members and leaders, the latter is made up of mostly vindictive people. They should have just ignored JYTs resignation, after all they knew all along why he called it a day. In regard to whether the amendment was proposed to censure the ex PM, the deliberations and especially the arguments put forth by the Talo and Ura MPs clearly pointed that way, they were not even subtle about it. If it was not to censure the ex PM, they could have at least waited for the winter session, there was certainly no rush to table such a motion. And as far resignations go, it is going to happen only in the rarest of rare cases and it will surely happen again if the polls are not free and fair like in 2013.

Anon 10:51: One post is enough to make us know what kind of a person you are. For people like you, it is okay to befriend an arch enemy of your best friend. It shows how cheap and lowly you can get just to protect your interest. If Bhutan wanted to show its tough side, why did we have to beg and become so much reliant on India for decades (almost a century)? Sensitivity guided by wisdom is all I am asking here, not rash decisions in defiance of the supreme authority and against the interest of the country that has helped us a lot.

Anon 12:52: Don't tell me JYT and his goons are mature enough to be saintly, benign, and forgiving. Evidences are overwhelming to prove the otherwise. People say hit the rod when it is hot. The issue of resignation has to be dealt when it is burning. There is no use of striking when the flame goes down.

What arch enemy are you talking about, as far as we are concerned, India and China are friends, obviously as global super powers, they will have their differences. In fact, I would consider Pakistan India's arch enemy and not China. The only about India is that they are paranoid.

If they are not arch enemies, why all the fuss about north-east chicken-neck corridor and the all the military build up in Hashimara, Siliguri, and Ley? Why is there so much of Chinese weaponry stockpiling along the Sikkim-China border and Lhadak-China border. Why did India almost pee in its pants when China was shifting some of its nukes to Tibet so that they can reach all of India with their missiles? Why is there a long stretch of disputed border between these two countries? I think dumbos like you really need skull cracking to dig out all the shits clogging your neurons in the brain.

India is shit scared of China. They know that Bhutan is situated at the strategic location to buffer China's infiltration. So long Bhutan remains an independent sovereign country in the world, so much is beneficial to India with regard to securing the whole north east regions. As a long friend of India, Bhutan should be sensitive to India's political situation. If few dunces here are not aware of it, stop ranting about India's meddling.

To all the PDP supporters, please tell your party to fulfill their poll pledges and start to govern the country instead of making noise here and leave JYT alone, he has served their Majesties and the country with distinction for the past 4 decades.

I think PDP is busy cleaning up the shits left behind by your DPT. The whole country is in a big mess. No loans, no import of cars, no INR, huge unemployment, escalating cost of hydropower projects, etc...etc....etc.. Pathetic losers like you expect the current government to function well in your mess. Ministers of this government cannot even ride in a decent car because you guys have robbed the government of all the prados. I can only sympathize with people like you who will sooner or later face the karmic wind.

To the DPT stalwarts, if you value your services to their Majesties why did your president have to ungracefully resign? Is the ceremonious way of trumpeting ones dedicated service? Is asking for Prado and Land Cruisers from the King a dedicated service? I know JYT served the Kings well, but he served himself more than he served the king and the people. Look at his mansion, family businesses, and the whole ridge he owns where he lives. If people like Yeshi Jimba, Khandu Wangchuk, and Wangdi Norbu who have also served equal or even more than him can live with wearing blue kabney in the parliament, why couldn’t he? Is this the kind of people you patronize? You guys only see JYT's and DPT’s service, and not the ones who have served much more than him. To me, some armed forces who lost their lives while flushing out the ULFAs and BODOs have served the country more than JYT or anyone. On a monthly basis many civil servants and armed forces are retiring and they have served the country at par with JYT. They are still contended even if they are not rewarded with fancy cars and lands. What is the use of serving if services are to be rewarded with excessive benefits?

Haha, come on Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba and many others wanted to resign, but in Bhutan, you can do somethings even if one wanted to. So just accept that PDP won the elections by unfair means which everyone knows. Denying such a sordid episode in our politics is not going to change anything that happened.

Those of you who think we can survive by going against India, try and do it once. Then you will know what exactly will happen. We will have no salt, no medication, no petrol, the list will go on.... Don't you morons realise we are a land locked country.We don't even grow enough rice to sustain our population. JYT, with the country's interest in mind made an effort to extend hand to China which was not approved by India. JYT should have asked India for forgiveness for the sake of The King and the country. Our King should not have to mend the wrong done by JYT which looked like The King interfering with democratic election.

Bhutan appears to be filled with experts as evident from the exchange of views that has been taking place here. Now that days have passed into months and entered into years, it's timely that we conduct some form of performance appraisal on PDP.